The Dennis Planning Board has submitted a Draft Land Use Vision proposal to the Cape Cod Commission to initiate discussions between the town and the Commission on future land uses in the Town of Dennis. This presentation walks you through the submittal and provides a discussion of each of the proposed areas on the map.
The Regional Policy Plan establishes several land use classifications from areas where resources should be protected to areas targeted for larger scale development. In Dennis the areas targeted for resource protection are flood plains, water recharge areas and local historic districts. All of these areas have already been identified by the town as needing extra protection and placing these on the map should not have a noticeable impact on land use patterns in Dennis.
In 2004 the Town of Dennis decided that the Dennisport Village Center needed special zoning to promote redevelopment that was in-line with the areas historic land use patterns. Since that time we have been working with the Commission on methods to provide some relief from regional regulatory review of developments above 10,000 sf. Placing this area on the map, while pursuing the path we are presently on, will reinforce to the region that the Dennisport Village Center is a locally and regionally significant economic center.
In 2007 the town rezoned West Dennis to create the West Dennis Village Center Zoning Districts. These districts included creating a mixed use core, a waterfront recreational district, and reinforced the marine/tourist uses near the Bass River. The area is similar to Dennisport in many ways. Investment in West Dennis will require significantly more cost than to develop new areas. Identifying this are as an economic area of local and regional importance and, in the future, working the the Cape Cod Commission on an appropriate regional regulatory scheme can encourage re-investment in this village in the same fashion envisioned for Dennisport.
In addition to these two recently adopted zoning districts the town is working on a number of proposals that will slowly be brought to Town Meeting. By identifying these areas now as locally and regionally important areas, we will be engaging the Cape Cod Commission early in the process of developing new regulatory schemes.
The West Dennis area comprises the Lighthouse Inn and several parcels surrounding it. These parcels are used for a variety of commercial and seasonal uses and in most cases represent uses that are clearly inconsistent with the residential zoning district within which they are located. The area contains about 199 acres, however the single largest parcel within this district is the West Dennis Beach at 136 acres. The West Dennis Beach is included in this district to clear up some issues related to commercial activities requested to be operated on the beach that were inconsistent with the residential zoning. The rezoning allows the Beach Commission to entertain non-residential requests for use of town property, it does not require the Committee to allow such uses.
The Dennisport Study area is comprised of land parcels that are significantly below current zoning standards. Zoning limitations make it difficult for these parcels to be redeveloped as the costs for reconstruction and septic upgrades exceed potential hotel revenues. To meet these expenses, property owners have been converting hotel units to timeshare properties. While current zoning does not clearly authorize such conversions, they have been accomplished under the guise of creating hotels in time share form of ownership. It would seem appropriate to formalize a hotel/condo land use that specifically addresses these market changes. In approaching this concept, we should consider what intervals of ownership are appropriate and how much of a site may be owned during any particular time period. I am starting with a suggestion that we change the height limitations for hotel properties in this district to 4 ½ stories with an at-grade story (or portion there-of) for parking and the remainder for occupied space comprised of rooms, registration area, lobby, and other guest services. A mixed use structure would be restricted to no more than 30% of the ground floor level being used for accessory commercial purposes in this district. Other allowed and permitted residential, commercial and mixed use projects would be restricted to 2 ½ stories.
The area along Route 6A has a traditional New England character. Unfortunately, the zoning for the area does not reinforce the land use patterns of the village. The area is essentially developed “to the back of the sidewalk” while zoning requires as much as 75 foot setbacks. This simple zoning provision could significantly harm the walk-ability of the village. In addition, there is little in current zoning to reinforce the types of uses that make up the village. Current zoning is very much a basic commercial district. The idea for this area to continue to consider the possibility of creating a zoning district that will promote a symbiotic concentration or arts oriented uses in this village.
The South Dennis Economic Center is located adjacent to Exit 9 off of Route 6. The area is zoned for commercial and industrial uses and presently represents strip suburban shopping center type development patterns. The long term vision for this area is for it to transition to a mixed use area, with retail, office and residential uses within a walking type center. The area represents a long term vision. Present uses would not be forced out, but over time, 20 or 30 years, the area could transition as existing sites seek to modernize and replace structures and uses that become worn with time.
The Dennis Industrial District has lot sizes that allow the opportunity for significant development opportunities. The Cape Cod Commission, in the Regional Policy Plan, has identified the need to improve the industrial climate on Cape Cod. This proposal would seek to work within existing zoning to relax regional review thresholds in the Dennis Industrial District to attract new industrial uses.
The Cape Cod Commission regulatory review no longer extends to public projects. However, in order to provide a complete long range vision for the town, it is important to recognize all development possibilities. The area on Bob Crowell Road has been long viewed as an area where existing town facilities (i.e. the old DPW Buildings) should be reused. Plans have circulated for years to have a new Recreation Center constructed in this area. There have been ideas that, should we construct a Recreation Center, that a Senior Center might also be appropriate for this area. In addition, the Affordable Housing Trust has suggested that additional housing could be situated in this area (an idea that also dates back many years). All of these, and other concepts such as a new centralized Town Hall, make this an important area for future land use discussions.
Sesuit Harbor is currently located in a Residential Zoning District. Back before 1973, marina uses were allowed by a Special Permit from the Board of Selectmen in Residential Zoning Districts. When the zoning was revised in 1973 this issue was not addressed. The zoning of this area is one the town needs to address as part of the update to the Local Comprehensive Plan. While there may not be much that would happen at the Sesuit Harbor Marina that would ordinarily trigger a regional review, many projects that could occur could trigger state environmental review – which is an automatic trigger for regional review. Placing this area on the Land Use Vision Map, reinforces the importance of the marina both to the town and the region.
The final area we are discussing is one that does not have a neat fit into the Regional Policy Plan. Agricultural uses were not provided any special mapped categories within the Regional Policy Plan or the Land Use Vision mapping criteria. The most significant, regional, agricultural facility in Dennis is the Aquaculture Research Center (ARC). This facility provides shellfish seed stock for most of the Northeast. It is important both to the town, to the county and the state. The area has been put into its own “economic center” for the Land Use Vision Map to recognize this importance. The ultimate goal will be to craft local and regional regulatory schemes that promote and protect the agricultural use of this property for shellfish propagation.
A Power Point version of this proposal is found below:
